Agreement that relationship needs to be bigger, bolder, more ambitious: EAM after talks with Trump admin

Washington/New Delhi, Jan 23 (Representative) External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said that from his bilateral meetings with the new US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and NSA Michael Waltz, there was a “consensus agreement” between the two sides that the bilateral relationship needs to be “bigger, bolder, more ambitious” and with more interactions. Addressing a press conference, the EAM also said that the two sides “want to promote ease of building the relationship”. “How to make it easier to do things; between the two there are the burden of regulations, and there is a recognition that we need to make the process smoother, to achieve a bolder, bigger shared relationship,” he said. EAM said he flagged India’s concern about delays in getting US visas. “And the relationship is not very well served if it takes that many days to get a visa, as it constrains people-to-people ties, business and tourism,” he added. Speaking on the chemistry between President Donald Trump and PM Narendra Modi, he said: “As someone who has been involved in the relationship for many decades, the level of trust is very high; and there is a very visible chemistry between PM Modi and President Trump, and this percolates into the relationship. There is a visible appetite to raise the relationship, set the bar higher.” On a possible meeting between the two leaders, he said that the Trump administration has just come in, and they are also finding their feet. “But clearly there is an interest in taking the relationship forward.” Referring to the phone call between PM Modi and President-elect Donald Trump in November after the Republicans won majority, the EAM said: “The PM had a very early phone call with Mr Trump and I was here last month, and there is a direction which the relationship is going…”

On the agenda, he said that there are broad subjects, like defence and security, skills and education and technology where “there is a lot of unexploited space, there are new things to do and there is also a challenge how to better do the things we are already doing”. He said he did touch on the economic side of the relationship during his bilateral talks but not in detail. “We were running a tight timeline; and the overall sense is that there are a lot of opportunities here. The US is in an era of technology centric progress,” he said adding that he got a sense that the US appreciates India as a partner and that “there are systemic things we need to do to better the relationship”.Elaborating on the economic and trade ties with the Trump administration, EAM said that he “did not get sense of it being a zero sum game, I saw it as collaborative”. He said that while the trade ministers from both sides will do the talking, “for me the deeper sentiment was the takeaway — you have your interest and we have ours, and we have to harmonise it”. He said he saw a lot of interest in the US-India initiative on Critical and Emerging Technology (iCET), and semiconductors in the Trump administration. On the US statement on the bilateral talks between him and Rubio referring to the US’ “concerns related to irregular migration”, the EAM said that India is supportive of legal mobility. “We want Indian talent and skills at the global level, and are opposed to illegal migration. It is both desirable and reputationally good”. He said he told Rubio that “it is in our interest to facilitate legal and effective mobility, and I don’t think the relationship is served by the delays (visa).